KUALA LUMPUR, February 4 - Student dropout rate recorded a downward trend for the period from 2020 to 2024.

Deputy Minister of Education Wong Kah Woh said that at the primary level, the dropout rate has decreased from 0.10 percent in 2020 to 0.06 percent in 2024.

While at the secondary level, the dropout rate has also decreased from 1.33 percent in 2020 to 0.64 percent in 2024.

He added that the MoE is also working with various parties as well as setting continuous management and monitoring mechanisms to deal with the issue of student dropouts.

"The MoE realises that there are some groups of students who need to be helped to prevent them from dropping out.

"A total of 18 types of schooling assistance are provided by the Ministry of Education, comprising 13 types of Specialised Schooling Assistance and five types of General Schooling Assistance.

"This includes the Early School Assistance (BAP) that was distributed in January, the Supplementary Food Plan (RMT) and the Uniform Assistance.

"The MoE also implements management and monitoring initiatives to deal with school dropouts via the Guideline for Managing Students at Risk of Dropping Out of School (GPMBC), the Serlahkan Keunggulan Diri (SUDI) module as well as the Writing Book for the Case Study of Students at Risk of Dropping Out and Dropout Students," he said in the Dewan Rakyat here.

He was answering a question from Member of Parliament for Rantau Panjang, Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff, who asked the MoE to state a plan to address the issue of student dropouts, especially in rural areas and among the B40 group.